Stonehill's debut as a historical novelist is Beforeastute and well written. Whether historians will quibble with facts, I don't know, for like many rStonehill's debut as a historical novelist is Beforeastute and well written. Whether historians will quibble with facts, I don't know, for like many readers, I know the Spanish Civil War primarily through the works of Hemingway. To provide even more interest for the literary, the father of the family (the poet of the title) aspires to be a poet like his idol, Garcia Lorca. The works of Lorca as well as his experience in the war are included in the plot. Art lovers will recognize Picassos's Guernica.

Before the war, Eduardo and Luisa are busy with their family, safe in the confines of their upper class life. Though Luisa tempts distrust and discrimination she befriends the much-maligned gypsies, who live in the countryside caves. This gitano family joins their own when their security is threatened, and the acceptance of them tells much of these rich Spaniards.

The war goes well for those revolting for more freedoms for a few weeks. Then the government's forces attack with such ferocity that cities are emptied, centuries' old buildings are destroyed, all are at risk. Eduardo's brother, Miguel, marks their home as untouchable (he is aligned with the Franco side), and for awhile all is as well as it might be in such a torn society.

The novel is told through three narrators. Each has particular interests, and there is never any doubt of which woman is speaking. Isabel, the oldest daughter, finds that she is more than a rich educated girl as she serves in the hospital. She endures the sights, sounds, and smells of the dying. She listens to each man that she can sit with, giving him peace of mind even as his spirit leaves. She falls in love. Her wounded hero is a citizen of France so that when all foreign fighters are expelled, hearts are bound to break.

As the family moves on to Granada, Isabel grows more. The tension of a missing brother, a missing father, and Isabel's missing love builds. The war spares no one, nor does it safeguard the Spanish architectural treasures in Barcelona and beyond.

Stonehill has written a compelling, fulfilling novel that reminds us again in this age of wars, of the futility of war, the strength of family, and the beauty of love.

I was an English major with a chip of skepticism on my shoulder. No matter what the professors said, I could not accept the widespread application ofI was an English major with a chip of skepticism on my shoulder. No matter what the professors said, I could not accept the widespread application of allusions and symbolism that should have been my bread and butter.

Then I met a gifted professor, John Espey, who introduced the class to James Joyce. He found a convert in me. Through close reading of the stories in DUBLINERS, I learned to free my mind to possibilities. I learned to connect allusions to their source and apply those to the story.

James Joyce is not an author for quick entertainment. He requires reading, re-reading, research, and thought. It helps to have a guide. It helps to have classmates to argue with.

When your work is done, the amazing craft of James Joyce is short stories such as "Eveline" and "Araby" make a lasting impression. Symbolism in literature lives and expands with the reader's willingness to take on the challenge of untangling webs of thought....more

Richard North Patterson is one of those novelists whose works I found by chance at the library when he first was making a name for himself. His work hRichard North Patterson is one of those novelists whose works I found by chance at the library when he first was making a name for himself. His work has changed and matured. The newet book, "Loss of Innocence," tells the story of a rich family on Martha's Vineyard in that pivotal year, 1968.

Whitney Dane assumes she will be spending her summer in the golden light of the New England coast, planning her September wedding and enjoying life with her college friends. 1968 is not going to be that kind of year, even for the very rich. When Bobby Kennedy is shot and killed, Whitney begins questioning her role in life even more than she has previously. She sees the disparities of wealth and rights in the USA in a way her parents don't.

On one of her solitary walks, she meets Ben Blaine, one of the native Islanders, one of the poor, rough guys. He is so angry about the world. She forms a friendship with him that her parents feel is inappropriate.

Things unravel in the U.S. Things unravel in the Danes' lives, especially Whitney's. This is a readable novel with Patterson doing his best to convey his understanding of women and sex. The sexual scenes were the only ones that sounded a false note....more

I won this on a goodreads giveaway. What a treasure! I will keep and share this book. It almost makes me wish I were still teaching (almost).

"Like AmeI won this on a goodreads giveaway. What a treasure! I will keep and share this book. It almost makes me wish I were still teaching (almost).

"Like America, but more so" said Wallace Stegner about California. In this anthology, edited by Gayle Wattawa, we get the voices of the spectrum that makes California the place it is. It is not always the Golden State; in places, the tarnish shows through the veneer.

Diversity is the key word in this anthology. Each of the selected pieces highlights another aspect of California life, some particular to the Golden State and some "like America, but more so."

There are non-fiction pieces such as the address to Berkeley grads from the department of Geography. In it, Gray Brechin makes a plea for education and above all, liberal arts education. He notes the great works of the WPA and the inscriptions etched into public places. The one that touched me most is this one: "What you would first have in the life of a nation you must put into its schools."

The comedic excerpt, "George Blanda Ate My Homework" (Brad Schreiber in Black Clock) captures the adolescent trying to wrangle his way out of a missing assignment; "Dear Mr. Atende" (Susan Straight, The Normal School) is much more serious, as a hard-working, single mom tries to explain a project that parents are not supposed to help with but of course other kids' parents do since they don't work two jobs and have a car to run all over town gathering supplies.

I have five favorite pieces, each about a family. "Ask Me if I Care," is a chapter from Jennifer Egan's award-winnning, "A Visit from the Goon Squad," with its punk-rocker problem children, a lost generation if there ever was one. I was surprised at how dear the baby became to me in Beth Alvarado's "The Motherhood Poems," as I am not one to ask to hold the baby or coo over a newborn. But her piece is told so tenderly, the reader feels the parents' and the grandparent's hope and dreams for this child. "From Blood Strangers" (Katherine Briccetti) tells of boys born by artificial insemination to a lesbian couple. All they want is to be parents, not a science experiment on display. "Father Close, Father Far" enters the memories of a boy, the child of the boss's mistress. He is not ashamed; he is happy to have a job. He knows his sons will never live the life he lived, and he says this with both pleasure and pain (Dagoberto Gilb).

A heartbreaking story of childbirth, "Polaroids of Tom," (Burlee Vang) introduces Hmong customs specifically and the reluctance to talk about death universally. Vang's retelling of his brother's still birth is a glimpse of lingering memory and suffering.

Taken as a whole, the anthology helps dissect what it means to be a California writer, someone who has chased a dream, lost one, or found one. This volume is one to be read and reread, shared aloud, and contemplated. The power of the written word to move the reader surges through the pages. ...more